Step 1: Complete the Application for Case Management Order form
This form is available online at www.gov.bc.ca/court-forms or at any Provincial Court Registry.
You can complete the form online and print it for filing. You can also complete it by hand. If you complete it by hand, be sure it’s readable. Registry staff
and staff at any Justice Access Centre or Family Justice Centre can help answer questions about the forms but they cannot help complete your forms or
give you advice about legal problems. If you need help filling in the forms and do not have a lawyer, ask the court registry staff or staff at the Justice
Access Centre or Family Justice Centre to refer you to someone who can help.
Follow the instructions in the form and include all the information that is asked for.
To prepare the form for filing:
• print or make copies of the completed form: one set for you, one set for the Court, and one set for each other party
• staple each package of documents together
• bring all copies to the court registry for filing or send by mail or by fax filing using the Fax Filing Cover Page Form 52
Step 2: File the Application for Case Management Order form at the Provincial Court Registry
You must file at the Provincial Court Registry:
• where the existing Provincial Court case with the same parties is filed, or
• nearest to where the child lives most of the time, if the case involves a child-related issue, or
• nearest to where you live if the case does not involve a child-related issue.
The registry clerk will review your package to make sure it is complete before filing it. You will be given a copy for your records.
There are no fees for filing Provincial Court family documents.
Step 3: Serve the Application for Case Management Order on each other party
and every other person who may be directly
affected by the case management order
Service is the act of giving or leaving documents with the required person. It is important that each other party, and every other person who may be
directly affected by the case management order, know that a case is going on, are aware of what step is being taken, and are given a chance to tell their
side of the story to the court.
You must serve the other party and every other person who may be directly affected by the case management order with at least 7 days’ notice of the
date and time of the court appearance, unless the court has ordered something else. This means there must be at least 7 days between the date the
application document is served on the other party or person and the date and time of the court appearance.
An Application for Case Management Order must be served to the address of service of each other party in any of the following ways:
• by leaving the documents at the party’s address for service
• by mailing the documents by ordinary mail to the party’s address for service
• by mailing the documents by registered mail to the party’s address for service
• if the party’s address for service includes an email address, by emailing the document(s) to that email address
• if the party’s address for service includes a fax number, by faxing the documents to that fax number
A party’s address for service is the address they have provided to the court. If a party does not have an address for service, the application must be served by
personal service.
Personal service requires that an adult (at least 19 years old) who is not a party hand deliver the documents to the party to be served.
A person, who is not a party may be served by:
• mailing a copy of the application by ordinary mail or registered mail to the person’s postal address; or
• leaving a copy of the application directly with the person (this is called personal service)
The court may need proof you had the documents served. The person serving the documents must complete a Certificate of Service Form 7 so that you can
prove service of the documents. You must attach a copy of the documents to the Certificate of Service. Remember to make a copy before the documents are
served.
Step 4: If applicable, attend the Court Appearance
A judge can make decisions based only on the information presented by the parties as evidence. Your evidence includes your application, any additional
affidavit(s), and spoken evidence provided in court.
Note: If you are making your application by consent and you have included a draft consent order, it usually means you can obtain the order without you
having to go to court. A judge reviews your application and unless the judge has any questions about what you are asking for, approves your order without a
court hearing.
A judge reviewing an application for a case management consent order may do any of the following:
• approve and sign the order without the need for the parties to come to court
• ask you to provide more information or evidence in writing or by coming to court to give that information
• require notice to be given to any other party
• make changes to the draft consent order and ask the parties to come to court to review and sign the changes if approved
• reject the application with an explanation
Depending on what you are requesting on your application, it may take the judge a few days to review your application. The registry staff will let you know
when you can expect to hear from them. If you have provided an email address in your address for service, they can usually let you know the results of your
application by email.
If you can't attend court using the method of attendance set out in your application for the court appearance, you can request the court's permission to attend
using a different method of attendance by filing an Application for Case Management without Notice of Attendance Form 11.